Why getting divorced is party time for over-45s

OLDER people who get divorced report feeling ‘relieved’, ‘excited’ and ‘more confident’ following the split, a survey has revealed.

Far from staying in and stewing over the break-up, a fifth of over-45s polled confessed to throwing a ‘divorce party’ or treating themselves to a night out.

Over a third remained friends with an ex-partner, and 65 per cent said any bad feeling surrounding the split was ‘in the past’.

More than one in six said hitting middle-age highlighted what they were missing in life, with divorce one of the first steps to finding happiness for around four in ten.

Growing apart due to different interests led 43 per cent to realise they were no longer compatible.

However, out of 1,153 divorcees quizzed, more than eight in ten had children to consider.

One in eight delayed parting until their adult children had moved out of the family home, and many said “empty nest syndrome” was a key factor that led to the split.

A recent official report revealed divorce rates are dropping in every age group but the over-50s.

Michael Vale, family law expert at Quality-Solicitors, which commissioned the latest survey, said: ‘Socalled silver divorces have become a phenomenon - and the process can often be less volatile than in the younger age sectors.’